Atlantic Express (game level)
Sitemap . . '--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -' 'Atlantic Express (AE Depot) Level Map Expansion' '--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -' AKA AE Depot Primary System Hub and Maintenance Facility and HQ Another Level Map expanded for the MMORPG to its full extent (not only what we are allowed to see in the solo game). The much larger interior spaces and facilities include functions that should have been present ( to be an integral part of the City) and give the MMORPG players more to interact with. --- The level 5 map insert shows a side view of the spacing of the various station track levels (was a bit of a tight fit even as much separation as there was between levels -- of course it was my choice to mutate that weird Traincar storage loft into a proper train station...). - --- --- --- --- - The Atlantic Express was more a commuter system (like a city subway) than a long distance passenger railroad (though it did have some longer lines out to communities that grew outside Rapture.) Thousands of workers went to work using it every day, and it took many carloads of passengers criss-crossing throughout the City. A few detail problems with the original level map : * The Workshops don't have any overhead track rails to move the Traincars about. * The workshop floors aren't flat to be able move the Traincars on some kind of wheeled support (a logical alternative if there is no overhead track). * The track-way ceilings have pipes crossing at lower heights than a Traincar's height (sitting on the ground) which would block any possible movement of Traincars in or out of the workshop. * Several cranes are (poorly) suspended from the skylight windows and they have no way to traverse (are not traveling cranes) or a way to to transfer a Traincar/sub-assemblies between the various rooms/thru the large doors. * Some Workshop 'tracks' run in a direction (and they have a significant altitude difference) that makes it hard to connect to the 'switching hub' . * The original hub and its storage/access tracks - that 'hub' switching crane is very odd, that turntable below is very odd, the few stacked storage (?) bays are very odd (its like the level designer heard of such things but doesnt know how they actually are supposed to work). * 'Switching Hub' a very strange/inefficient system to 'switch' between alot of tracks (track switches can do that just fine -- picture of monorail switch - ( http://faculty.washington.edu/jbs/itrans/bomb12.gif , http://faculty.washington.edu/jbs/itrans/sipem3.gif ). - There is a large height separation between various 'floors' in the Atlantic Express map, varying more than 140 feet between the 'Short Line' Station at the top and the 'Hub' at the bottom. It does cause problems when the topmost track should somehow connect to the maintenance/hub tracks on the lowest level. It would take a 16 percent grade (1 in 6 -- enough for those geared Traincar wheels to really grind) 1/6th of a mile to climb between those levels. Areas represented on Map have been relocated a bit -- to put the Workshop balcony floor on the appropriate map 1B, instead of on the Airlock floor (2) which really has a 40 foot height difference. Two new maps are added for the new "Grand Central Station" Concourse and Station Track floors (3,4), below the Top Tenenbaum station floor (5). The level's original small Station (Tenenbaum's haunt) has two dead-end tracks. Departing Traincars would have to first back into the Station for loading. On arriving would have to go somewhere else to be turned for the return trip in the lines opposite direction (and/or head to the 'Hub' for servicing between trips). The original map shows the Traincars in the Station pointing to the left (as viewed), and that Trains direction should be East to be going towards Ryan Amusements (which is indicated to be Eastward on the AE map in BS2 - http://images.wikia.com/bioshock/images/e/e8/AtlanticExpressTrainMapAnim.gif So the entire level map would have to be be reoriented 180 degrees to be the the conventional 'North is Up" (so the Train can depart to the right (as East)) There are 2 wrecked Traincars on the upper Station's 2nd track -- both aimed outward, one plowed UNDER the other -- kinda hard to do with that blunt rear-end those Traincars have, and in Reverse (and at low speed needed to negotiate the Airlock passage-- with not alot of distance to work up any real speed....). Must have been sabotaged by other Factions to cut Lamb off from other parts of Rapture. The inner airlock door on that 2nd track is destroyed/heavily damaged which makes using that Airlock (and thus the track) impossible. Workshop 6A and 6B -- where are Workshops 1-5 ??? A logical place would be repair bays off the 'Hub' turntable (which were added). A bit odd that there should be a 40 foot height difference between "Workshop 6A" and "Workshop 6B". A connecting track has been added. The Mk2 facility would have its own set of much larger workshops for the newer Mk2 replacement equipment. --- --- --- A Proper Station : That Traincar 'loft'(?) that you go past in the Elevator in BS2 (directly above the 'Switching Hub') is a bit odd. Is it for storage or repairs ? It does not make that much sense either way (It must've simply looked good for filler in the Level). The design does not seem to have any way to lift Traincars from the Hub area, and its one large door (blocked by girders) is about 110 feet above the Hub floor below, making it a little inconvenient. Repairs would be more appropriate in a setting like the existing 'Workshops'. Storage could be done like this : https://rapturerebornmmorpg.wikia.com/wiki/File:Elevatorparking.jpg , but a flat yard of tracks would be much simpler (and there is no real lack of space around Rapture). A multi-tracked, multi-leveled 'Union' Passenger Station (allowing convenient transfers between trains) would be logical (and was/is common in the real world). I would convert it to that (and this showy monstrosity would thus be constructed fully visible to impress Passengers as Rapture's "Grand Central Station"). SO, as redesigned, Rapture's old Grand Central Station had 3 levels -- a Concourse level and 2 track levels each with 4 double-ended tracks heading out to the City's many corners (the primary City destinations in the early days). Steel grey would be replaced with Chrome and fancy glass (and those big turning wheel thingees will look impressive in chrome plating --- not really sure what their function is beyond decorative). Ditto for a proper 'Big Station' Train Board and a full System Map (maybe some high-tech one that shows moving train locations). The odd weaving track tubes seen on the new track levels (diagram shown is one level of two -- a total of 8 main Station tracks accessible from the Concourse) have track switches to allow trains to arrive/leave on varying Station tracks. This allows failure redundancy (needed in a busy Station) and common access to the Traincar repair/servicing facility (note that the 2 middle tracks on right-side can access any of the 4 station tracks on that level). These track tubes (tunnels) are full of air (not water or water at the outside sea pressure) because many connect back to the Depot's maintenance/repair/service facilities and Traincar storage/turntable. Each route as it heads out for its destination in Rapture is the site of the required airlock that transitions to the high pressure sea water environment (and some near-parallel routes share the same airlock and have a track switch outside select the right track path). Later, as Rapture's center of gravity shifted Northwards and the Atlantic Express was rebuilt to a Mk2 system, a new Grand Central Terminal was established elsewhere, and a number of the original routes out of AE Depot were abandoned and pulled up/salvaged. Splicers in the post-Ryan era used the derelict Station as a flophouse - living in the abandoned Traincars still hanging on track there. We make use of the secondary Station on the Top floor, which was used for the lesser route that traversed the various entertainment venues in South Rapture (The "Short Line" that Prentis Mill retained after the bankruptcy). The Grand Station would have a Big Train Board (a proper one) showing all the scheduled trains - listing all trains and track assignments for destinations throughout Rapture. Since trains can frequently be delayed, a well designed Station can assign a train to/from destinations on any track. Once the track is assigned, the passengers waiting in the Concourse would then know which track to go to (and if the system operated much like a typical subway/commuter system, there would be a rush as the riders run to get a seat or have to become a "strap-hanger" for their trip). --- --- --- . . . 'Hub' converted to conventional RR 'roundhouse' scheme, which is used to access a multitude of storage/repair/service tracks for repairs, servicing and storage. --- --- --- I fixed the 'Switching Hub' to be a proper logical arrangement (track turntable) and eliminate the needless double stacking of tracks, and that bizarre crane device. The 'Hub' now has 8 bays all at the same level - simpler, easy to access the Traincars for servicing/inspections/maintenance. Tracks coming into this Hub connect to the various 'Workshops' on different levels in the facility, to the Passenger Stations, to idle car storage tracks, and to the incoming/outgoing train lines. The Elevator we take going to the Manager Office -- is NOT for passengers (as it goes down to maintenance levels...) I've added several passenger elevators to access the Station Concourse and the Track levels and the Upper Station. There was also the need to add a link for this station to a local 'cluster' of buildings (access to the Plaza at the 'Street level). The First Class accommodations include a special elevator between the First-Class Lounge and the Concourse/Upper Stations. There originally was no worker's walking path between level 2 (Airlock/Workshop) and level 1 (Workshop/Hub) evident (a burning hole in floor doesn't count). I added a stairwell for workers and an industrial sized elevator for moving large mechanical components. All Workshops are modified to now have a proper train track, so that Traincars can be easily moved about, and now with tunnel connections added between the different tracks/levels (needed for repair access for the equipment). There is now a normal (by walking or better via Adonis Spa's golfcarts) path across from the AE Depot to the Adonis Health Spa complex (a viaduct - not everyone comes by Bathysphere...). In BS2 we find many Splicers there, so its logical there would still be a working connection to other parts of Rapture. Basement levels that you saw on other maps have been somewhat omitted on this map set, but would be of the same form with extension of the external structural walls into a mass of Foundation concrete, with numerous tunnels to drain water seepage/leakage and to hold various utility machinery (or just to save on concrete in those large volumes of filler) -- lots of dank dark tunnels players love to explore. Added - a Submarine Dock near the airlock facing Adonis - 4 bays. The AE used submarines for track inspection/construction/repairs/emergency as well as off-system transportation. Various track building/repair sea-equipment would be stored nearby. Some rich customers who ride about in the larger 'luxury' submarines (which cannot fit the Metro styled facilities) also use this Dock. That 2nd small (upper) Station track goes someplace else ("Fontaine Court" is shown on Schedule boards -- but that is in a different direction -- Northwards). Perhaps that track went to another City building cluster like Rapture University (north-east), or to another City transit node South-East of the AE Depot. If the 'Short Line' had been a busier route, it might have warranted a double track (but none of the other Stations along our BS2 route are double tracked). Those other buildings seen out the windows indicate a good sized City 'cluster' is in the Atlantic Express Depot's vicinity. The AE Depot would be a convenient transportation hub originally, and many businesses would want to take advantage of that (and so, locate nearby). The rocks/glowing sealife outside the many windows apparently are decorative 'sea gardens' as the real seabed is often 100 feet below the window in some views. That see-thru Grid (glass brick) in Station Managers office floor -- is OVER "Grand Central Station". The floor of the main Station Concourse is also glass so that the trains/tracks below (2 levels) can be seen. Cleaning all those see-thru floors must have kept someone busy... Some Traincar maintenance was still going on when Delta makes his appearance. The staff and infrastructure needed to (re)manufacture most/many vehicle parts is long gone. The few train lines that Lamb controls within her territory (trainlines going to elsewhere were blown up by other Factions to isolate her bothersome ambitions) are making due by cannibalizing parts from other Traincar units and doing what little repairs can still be managed. We witness the results. -- Like on other (of my) level maps, you see a number of different transportation systems converging in one area -- Trains, Trolleys, Submarines, Bathyspheres (even elevators and walkway viaducts). Many are in close proximity to each other to minimize interchanging between them. Add a Bathysphere Station (on the top level) -- as 5 different Metro Bathysphere lines converged here (as well as transfers from The Adonis Luxury Resort's small Station). The AE Depot may have lost much of its importance as the AE Train systems's Central Passenger Station, but the businesses and other buildings nearby kept it important as a destination and commuter interchange point. The Metro Station has the large "Metro Gardens" as part of its Station to impress customers with the superiority of its deluxe service (at least to the rich people who can afford to use the Bathyspheres). With 5 Bathysphere lines converging, it has a good sized (an 8-holer) Metro Station facility (a substantial installation of underwater cable machinery and 'sphere' guideways that allow through traffic to transfer directly between lines when needed ). Fortunately, much of that system operates at normal sea pressure and does not require as much of the massive bunker-style constructions most buildings do (as there is no pressure to hold out). A Street connection to the local cluster City 'Plaza' (Trolley hub) is represented. Numerous building around the Depot need to have access to the various Stations. Atlantic Express Depot became an important commercial center in Rapture's earlier days, while the rest of the City was still being built. A test track is added to test repaired Traincars. The 1000 foot test track submerges the cars (normal atmosphere in the closed tunnel) but can be drained quickly in case of failure. The Workshop tracks were stretched in a few places - such as a Traincar painting/cleaning facility which the large system would require. The Workshop from the DLC Protector Trials was added (now a Traincar paintshop). There would have been several hundred Traincars running on the AE system, at its maximum extent, and the shops indicated on the map (and the ones now at the 'Hub') would have been kept busy with routine repairs. --- Deluxe service Lounges in the Station - in the Ryan-Amusements-bound track there was a special loading access to the Traincar's passenger doors. Atlantic Express offered First-Class service with various special accommodations and services (Bar service and Stewards, Hot Towels and the Daily Papers ??). --- A Jet Postal (transparent) mail chute is near the original airlock, with mail (one assumes) still whizzing by. Who is still sending this stuff around Rapture? And is that much of the Pneumo system still working ?? The Pneumo system was built pretty robustly (years after Rapture was started) apparently, so many parts of that system could still be working all these years later, despite lack of maintenance and much abuse. The Jet Postal station adjacent to ""Workshop 6B" spews food goodies (part of the Lamb-land supply apparatus?) * Beef-E (meat? may even be a cardboard tube 'can') * CJ Greens (canned veggies - even Splicers need a balanced diet) * Coffee Thermos(or equivalent) - thermos may not be real glass lined vacuum (those broke if you even looked at them wrong... * Dr Hollcroft's Cure-All (stuff must've worked to still be in business, maybe with a few special additives by Lamb) Those supplies are all you need to survive there and harvest Splicers for cash, ammo and other stuff. So apparently, there are still assembly lines being run somewhere to produce this consumables stuff (old pre-chaos items would have either been eaten long ago, or would be old and rather far gone for anyone to safely eat). A supply chain still works, as you can't just fill these packages with chipped concrete( well, you can, but it only fools people for so long). The packaging itself takes raw materials to create (kelp based cardboard ???) --- The Traincars would have been the perfect objects for Lamb's followers to scrawl their loony slogans onto, but was never done in the game. They would also have made an interesting traveling 'Prayer Meeting' for Father Wales to employ, as well to be shown as a primary transport for Lamb's "dole" of gruel and such to all 'The Family' members. Tenenbaum lived (at least for a while) in the AE Station Ticket Office ( interesting that second (nearby) ticket booth which has NO entrance door...) with a number of Little Sisters. There is a door to the side there that must've had access to restrooms/water/etc.. Where/how Tenenbaum got ahold of food and other necessities is not explained, and she must have had a way to other parts of the City. She goes around rescuing Little Sisters herself, so must have some effective means of neutralizing the various Rapture denizens she runs into. Perhaps some kind of Dartgun (or a thrown globule/orb ?) that disables Splicers and even Big Daddies (and maybe Big Sisters), which would be of great interest to New Rapture in the MMORPG. All those fancy controls and lighted indicators in the Traincar's cockpit -- like its a space capsule. Hmm, no little window thru the passenger compartment door to see into the 'cockpit' -- it is usually there to instill some confidence in the passengers that the operator isn't dead or drunk or both. I could slip in a access door behind the Vita-Chamber machine's cubbyhole - covering an unused section in the Station's later derelict days -- after most of the AE passenger traffic was discontinued and the new machines (or when the Vita-Chambers could be made widely available) happen to fit the space. "Sea Gate 12" (adjacent to the Cafeteria storeroom) ... Where are the rest of them? What are they for ?? Not the most convenient way to keep watch on outside pipes transitioning inside-outside (a place where thermal expansion and corrosion make the pressure seals vulnerable, requiring extra care and maintenance). The shaft may have been originally used to install large equipment/machinery down into the facility. The AE Business Tower is located above the airlock we first enter through (it is seen during that little ocean walk we do to cross from the flooded Demeter's Banquet Hall). It is a typical small 4-story office 'tower' used for various business related activities (The Atlantic Express was one of the largest businesses and employers in Rapture in the pre-Metro days). See all that rubbish and rubble blocking your movements in various directions, as you walk around out in the Ocean - don't let it fool you. There is alot of outside machinery also, all over out there, that keeps Rapture going. It all needs alot of maintenance -- meaning alot of walking about, manhandling equipment, hauling repair supplies, and inspections to find the next problem/failure. It is a good thing all those Big Daddies are still at work out there, or everyone who stays inside would be in big trouble. If New Rapture ever figures out how to rehabilitate the people who were made into those Cyborgs, they had best have enough trained people who will know how to take over those jobs (as there once was before ADAM came along). Of course, Lamb's minions dumped alot of wreckage and debris just outside the airlocks, instead of properly hauling the stuff away, and it has accumulated. It is not making the Maintenance Cyborg's jobs any easier and several such sites are slated for cleanup by the New City to facilitate renewed maintenance. The "Traincar" we see under repair (or whatever) in the "Workshop 6B" is actually a Freight unit - not the type of Traincar we ride across towards Persephone. Such units were 'locomotives' (no window in the front and their shape matches those blueprints we see in various places) that pulled other 'freight' cars that would be left at locations for loading and then taken to a destination for delivery. Huge amounts of construction materials were moved about Rapture that way, while it was being built. Such 'freight' movements remained important to the City's functioning even after the AE Train Passenger traffic largely ceased. --- . . An amusing spot in one of the Workshops has a Splicer campsite with a bucket containing some kind of presumably edible sealife, a fishing-pole-like tool (not sure how one fishes out into the oceans pressure - perhaps was used on interior submarine pools or equivalent), and a string of what looks like decorative lights -- but on closer inspection are bottles containing some sort of glowing Bioluminescent things. There is also the other common accouterments of a mattress/suitcase, empty food tins, etc... It may be an interesting experience for the MMORPG players to roleplay a Splicers life, having to deal with day to day survival, as well as finding something to do to fill the long years. They may have to also deal with the warped reality caused by ADAM insanity -- possibly of many flavors and magnitudes for different individuals (various special visual effects and even object substitutions or indicator -- more fun/creativity for the Player Asset Creators). Maybe the player should have to live that way a short time before they are caught by New Rapturites and go thru the rehabilitation/cure that makes them into new Citizen Ex-Splicers. --- I could have added a level 6 diagram, that besides showing the tall interior of the Upper (small) Train Station we use, should also had another floor of offices for the Railroads Operation staff and maybe a substantial 'Presidents' office for the owner Prentis Mill. Likewise, there should be more than a little staff accommodations for the large Metro station (and the high ceiling of the Bathysphere Dock and the Metro Gardens, with its trees that outdo much of what you see in Arcadia). --- --- -- I was going to do an overview diagram of the extended Atlantic Express facilities built adjacent to the older Mk1 facility -- the larger Mk2 expansion started in 1950 to meet expanded passenger and freight traffic requirements and to correct structural limitations/deficiencies of the original installations. But much of it would be similar in shape (turntable, repair tracks, etc..) except just bigger. So instead here is a list of the various facilities added adjacent to the original/earlier AE Depot (circa 1946) represented in the modified level maps. Facilities still in use are : The Metro Bathysphere Station, the Trolley Hub (off map), the Submarine Docks, various offices, the connecting link to The Adonis Resort, The Short Line route (upper station) and a few other operational parts of the the dwindling Mk1 system). The New Grand Central Terminal Station was relocated to be more central in Rapture, after the Northern end of the City grew substantially -- as did areas outside Rapture city limits (the 'Suburbs'). Mk2 Additions : * Two Mk2 Turntables - to handle the increased number of 'locomotives' and Passenger Traincars on the expanded system (as well as simply physically larger Traincar equipment ). * Car/Locomotive 'Shops', construction building and repair facilities, including a foundry and large machine shops (also used to fabricate/construct alot of large machinery for Rapture - to construct machinery and equipment for other industrial/commercial uses, which became a viable secondary business (part of the reorganized company after the bankruptcy).. * A freight yard - long multiple storage tracks for sorting out freight cars and to store idle cars not in-use (my city map show this yard extends about half a mile eastward from the AE Depot. They were in under-seabed air tunnels. Some 'Private' passenger cars were also stored there. * Warehouses and trans-shipping Freight House facility - storage and sorting/repacking of freight into cars for various destinations (some larger manufacturers would rent space to use as a central distribution point for their products.) These did alot of work handling all the mass of possessions of the immigrant influx (which peaked in 1951) and the following industrial/commercial growth of the City. * Repair and maintenance equipment storage and prefabrication center ( used to build the improved (Mk2) track components ). * A new System Control, Office and Administrative complex. * The Railroad Personnel Training School * A transfer line (shuttle) between the old main Mk1 station (and its connections) and a newer Mk2 Station. Numerous realignments of trackage were made during the rebuilding period, some to keep the original track operating while the new Mk2 track was installed, others were abandoned because their use was superseded by the 'Street' Trolley Systems (the original City construction use was long gone), others rebuilt to get at new traffic sources, some shifted to avoid problematic/unstable terrain. The AE Freight System continued running past the time when the Passenger business bankrupted, and even continued after Ryan's death. The central facility was locked down and cut off when Lamb's minions occupied the old AE Depot and some sections were flooded. Some remnants in other sections of the City still operate where the people have the will/ability to make repairs in a few Remote Facilities. New Rapture hopes to reactivate, rebuild and join the still intact segments in its long term plans. --- "Fontaine Court" (which we see on the train board in the 'Short Line' progression) was a destination in the opposite direction which we travel from AE Depot. I place it near Neptunes Bounty as an area that Fontaine got control of and developed as a nearby place for his workers to live. It could be reasoned that having a route running from there to the 'low' entertainment venues of Paupers Drop and Sirens Alley could still be viable and thus was not abandoned as was most of Raptures local passenger train service. (Perhaps it was just Prentis Mill wanting to play 'trains' with a remnant of his system - he never was totally out of money). What were those 'Cancelled' stations listed beyond "Fontaine Court" ??? Perhaps again the line had run on to Neptune's Bounty and Port-of-Rapture to tap into the commuting workers of those places. But those locations were later cut off by Factions opposing Lamb's Collective -- like the Fishermen at Neptunes Bounty who had had enough first of Fontaine and then Atlas and were sick of people who wanted to 'help' them. They had the food everyone wanted and thus could bargain with other Factions like Ryan's old group at Hephaestus to counter Lamb's ambitions. In the opposite direction there are 'cancelled' stops before Dionysus Park. One is probably Paupers Drop (not sure why it has that indication). But what was the other stop ? Some old building cluster that had its station destroyed or flooded or is infested with flying piranhas or giant flesh eating cockroaches or somesuch. In the MMORPG you could go there to find out. The scheduled times shown to transit these stations is a bit suspect. The City just isn't that large, and unless the AE Traincars go at a walking pace (we've seen them move faster than that with us inside) they should get to each next station in only a few minutes. Waiting a long pause after arrival at each station isn't logical, unless the Traincars have to be 'charged' more frequently for some technical reason caused by recent deterioration (passengers would NEVER originally have put up with those lengths of times, which they could swim faster than to reach their destinations). Perhaps its just Lamb keeping her minions in their place. --- --- --- Piles of Crap Outside the Airlock Entrance (Along the path from previous Level ) : All the junk outside where you enter the AE Depot looks like a garbage dump for stuff to in future be recycled - concrete and metal. As a transport hub, that dump likely would make a nice central spot for the old Mk1 track frames and such. --- --- --- --- . .